Quote:
Originally Posted by cidanu
if the money was coming from Starkey Foundation, then the whole thing would be moot because it's technically a separate entity not associated with Starkey. Starkey donates to the foundation, then the foundation (which has a separate board of directors) decides what to do with the money.
anyway, that's considered ok, and in my opinion it basically comes down to money laundering and is hardly different than accepting money directly from Starkey.
obviously we would all say that accepting this scholarship won't influence our clinical decision-making, but at the same time the laws are there to protect consumers and we have to respect that.
if there's a loophole in the AAA laws that makes it not a violation of their code of ethics, then i'm taking it because i could use $500.
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From how I interpreted the email, they can't technically prohibit you from taking the money as you are still a student.
I've been talking with several of my classmates who were also at AAA, it's been an interesting topic. In one sense, I can argue about how is it really that different than going and see Third Eye Blind at a private concert (probable $50-100 /ticket to see a concert) and consuming $50-100 dollars of food and alcohol depending on how much you eat and drink etc. I don't think any of us (generalizing!) felt any qualms about doing that? This however is dealing with Straight Cash Homie! and has definitely caused me some discomfort. Like others have mentioned, I like to think that this will have no impact on me in clinic right now, especially because I rarely recommend any Starkey products. They are just not one of the manufacturers we use often.
One of my classmates has told me she needs the money to help pay her tuition during her 4th year and will be keeping it. I can not fault her for that in the slightest. Similarly another said she is returning it. I think that since it has made me feel uneasy since I did it, I am leaning towards going with my gut and returning it.
Just my $.02
As an aside, BigAl can you elaborate on this whole Starkey not coming back to AAA thing?